MASHATILE BRINGS HOPE TO THE PEOPLE — FROM NEW JERUSALEM TO PARADISE, A LEADER WHO LISTENS AND PROMISES DIGNITY
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact
The ANC remains a broad church for all South Africans — and today, that broad church was in Atteridgeville.
On Thursday afternoon, Deputy President Paul Mashatile led a powerful, people-centred campaign trail through New Jerusalem informal settlement and Paradise sports ground, Ward 7, Greater Tshwane — not with empty slogans, but with a concrete plan for housing, water, and dignity.
Mashatile did what true leaders do. He walked the streets. He went door-to-door. He sat with residents who have been living in shacks since 2017, without formal electricity, without proper water, without proper roads. He listened to their pain. And he gave them a straight answer.
In a message that has now gone viral on his official page, Mashatile said:
"The ANC remains a broad church for all South Africans. This afternoon, I was in Atteridgeville. I engaged with community members and encouraged them to vote for the ANC on the 4th of November 2026. I also addressed volunteers at New Jerusalem and Paradise sports ground, Ward 7; thanking them for their continuous support for the oldest liberation movement."
But he brought more than thanks — he brought a plan.
Speaking directly to residents, Mashatile announced that the ANC-led leadership of the City of Tshwane has identified Zandfontein Phase 1 and Phase 2 as the relocation sites where residents of New Jerusalem will finally receive what they have waited almost 10 years for: formal houses, electricity, water, sanitation and proper roads.
This is not a promise for 2030. This is a relocation plan already identified, already on the table, already budgeted under the ANC's renewal of Tshwane.
One resident, Mmabatho Mogale, who has lived in a shack in New Jerusalem since 2017, summed up the mood of the community when she told the Deputy President: "Don't disappear on us after we've voted on the 4th." It was a cry from the heart — a fear that politicians only come when they need votes.
Mashatile's answer was immediate and powerful. "We are coming back after the 4th. In all communities where we are campaigning, we are going to go back because that's our tradition, that's how we do things as the ANC. We don't go to communities only because there are elections, it's the way we operate. We do even go as government," he said.
That is the Mashatile Doctrine — government outreach is not a campaign gimmick, it is a tradition of the ANC.
On the issue of water — which has become a national concern after the City of Tshwane reported 408 cases of gastrointestinal illness linked to contaminated water in Bronkhorstspruit and surrounding communities on 19 October, with water tankers deployed — Mashatile was honest, responsible and solution-driven.
He made it clear that Atteridgeville was NOT part of that outbreak, but acknowledged that residents still face water challenges. He said government is prioritising water provision, not leaving it to municipalities alone.
"The issue of provision of water is a priority, not only in Tshwane, but throughout the country," he said. "We won't get it right overnight, but we are attending to it."
He referred to the drilling of boreholes in areas where bulk water supply is inadequate and said relevant ministers will be involved in addressing water challenges. He said government outreach programmes allow leaders to engage directly with communities and understand their difficulties.
This is leadership. While others tweet from air-conditioned offices, Mashatile is in Ward 7, in the dust of New Jerusalem, explaining boreholes, Zandfontein housing phases, and water infrastructure.
For the people of New Jerusalem and Paradise, Thursday was not just a campaign. It was proof that the second highest office in the land still remembers the poorest of the poor.
With 12 days to go to 4 November, Mashatile has shown the ANC's face — humble, present, planning, and promising not to disappear after the vote.
That is why Atteridgeville cheered today. The broad church has come home.
The Azanian — Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
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